Five bullet-riddled bodies were discovered hanging from electricity poles in Pakistan's Chaghi district in Balochistan, near the Iranian border. Police have confirmed that the victims were from Lashkargah in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
The bodies were transferred to the morgue at the central hospital in Quetta. Local authorities in Chagai, Balochistan, believe that the five individuals were killed elsewhere and then moved to Dalbandin, a city in the Chaghi district.
Atiq Shahwani, a senior government official in the region, informed AFP that the bodies were taken to a local hospital where doctors confirmed that the cause of death was multiple bullet wounds, primarily to the chest.
Images of the bodies hanging from electric poles have circulated on social media, drawing widespread attention to the incident. Dalbandin, a city near the Iranian border, is known as a critical point in the border region, with separatist military groups active in the area.
Police have yet to release further details regarding the identities of the victims, and no group has claimed responsibility for the killings at this time.
Victims' Identities and Motive Behind Killings
Some local media outlets, citing unnamed sources, have reported that the victims were former Afghan government security personnel. However, official sources have not confirmed this information.
Earlier this year, the militant group Jaish ul-Adl released a video showing five Afghan nationals in their custody, claiming they were involved in the assassination of one of the group's leaders. At that time, Jaish ul-Adl stated that the five men were linked to the security forces of the former Afghan government and accused them of ties to an "assassination and espionage network" affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The group had announced that it had sentenced the men to death but has not released any further information regarding their fate.
